Waking up to Ash and Dust
by Listenerofshadows
Summary: There's something amiss with Bart Allen. He doesn't fit your typical 13 yr old mold. To society, he's an odd kid with a strange lack of pop culture knowledge. To fellow supers, his tales about being a tourist from a bright future doesn't add up. To himself, he struggles with time travel and the ramifications that follow suit. (Set during and after the events of YJ Invasion)


**A/N: (5/26/17) Some say they dictate the story, while others say the story dictates them, and this is SO the case when it comes to this monster. This story took me to different places I wasn't expecting, to different POVs I hadn't planned for, and dragged me on a wild goose chase when it came to plot. Thank you both YJFicExchange on Tumblr for hosting the 'Mini Big Bang' event and Puddingmcmuffin on Tumblr for her patience and her beautiful artwork that accompanies this piece. I experimented a bit on this fanfic, on how a certain perspective can change how you view a character. Bart is a fun character to do this with, because depending on your knowledge of him, you have different prejudices of his character. For example a fellow classmate in school would meet him and expect him to be a normal kid vs. the Team thinking he's a stranded tourist from a bright Future vs. The Team learning he comes from a dark apocalyptic Future. Because of this, the first chapter is OC-heavy with a strong focus on Bart and their views/interactions with him. From here on out, we'll be dealing with canon characters.**

* * *

Part 1: Society

Warnings: Mentions of abuse and suicide, nothing too explicit

Pairings: Gen, mentions of Spitfire

Characters: Bart Allen, Wally West, OCs (for sake of plot)

Chapter Word Count: 4703

* * *

There is something amiss with Bart Allen, the boy with the mousy hair and lilac eyes. He appears to be the typical mischievous teenager. He can always be seen munching on a candy bar or pushing on people's buttons. But it's the little things about him. It's the little things that send alarming bells in the minds of society around him.

Society, a group of people that lives with a set of customs, traditions and laws. A group of people fashioned out of the people before and who raises the people to come. A group of people whose thinking is influenced by the literature and television that they consume. A group of people who are united in traditions, who share in the comfort of people who operate the same. A group of people who can tear apart anyone that doesn't conform to their rules. That Society.

* * *

There's a lady who owns a small souvenir shop in downtown Central City. It's mainly filled with Flash memorabilia and a few staple tokens like "I 3 Central City" shirts. It's right next to a historical marker, a prime target for tourists and the like. If it wasn't for the ridiculously high rent, she'd be making big. The fact of the matter is this: she is struggling to keep the business afloat. A boy enters her shop during a slow time in her business.

Nothing is particularly strange about that except it is school hours and he appears to be middle-school aged.

"Boy, what are you doing here?" She asks him as he inspects a display of snow globes.

He jumps, nearly dropping the one in his hand. It's a depiction of Central City with the Flash standing in a heroic pose.

"I just, ah, wanted to have a look around y'know?" He flashes a toothy grin.

"During school hours?" She raises an eyebrow.

"I'm on—ah what do you call it?" He snaps his fingers a couple times, "a—a field trip, yes that's it!"

"Where's the rest of your class?"

"….I got separated from them." He mutters, ducking his head down to avoid her gaze. He bounces on the balls of his feet, looking like a wild animal about to bolt.

"Well then, you're welcome to call your—"

"Wow, would you look at that, I just saw them passing by! Gotta go, nicetalkingtoyoubye!"

She blinks, and then blinks again. One moment, he stood there, and the next he was gone. In a flash. Upon further inspection, a snow globe from the display is missing along with a couple candy bars. It infuriates her, but it's not big enough that she feels obligated to go to the Police for. In a city where supervillains ravaged, petty thievery wasn't on the top of the cops' priority list.

The next day when she opens, the missing snow globe mysteriously turns up on her counter. It's accompanied with a twenty dollar bill and a note scribbled in chicken scratch.

"I am sorry for taking from your shop without buying anything. I already ate the candy bars so here is money instead."

The next month, an apartment building nearly crushes her on her way home. Something picks her up and she is sent flying a thousand miles a hour.

"Better watch where you're going, mad'm," Something—a boy with lilac eyes hidden behind a golden visor—quips at her.

He is scrawny and almost collapses as he releases her from his grasp.

"Do I know you?" She says, once the shock's worn off and she found her voice.

He stares at her for a moment, like a deer caught in a headlight. Then a smirk slowly worms its way onto his face.

"I don't think so. Perhaps you've seen me on the news, helping out the Flash." He opens his mouth to say more—when an explosion occurs the next block.

"Well that's my cue gottagobye!" He zooms ahead, leaving the lady to ponder in silence.

* * *

There is a new student at Central City Middle School. This is not exactly the talk of the century. There is always new students flowing into the school, be it at the start of the year or mid-year transfers. There are children whose families have moved into the area. Then there are children who moved from the future into the current present. The latter is exceedingly rare and there is only transfer with that credit to his name and that is Bart Allen.

Bartholomew "Bart" Allen is the textbook new kid. He nervously rubs his fingers on the edge of his backpack straps, humming under his breath. His posture remains tense as he glances around the classroom. His eyes flies over the heads of the students as they peer around for possible escape routes. He wants to be anywhere but here, present in the classroom and collectively the class sympathizes with him.

"Good morning, everyone!" The teacher says, "As you can see, we have a new student with us today."

She places a hand on Bart's shoulder who flinches at the unexpected physical touch. If the teacher noticed anything off by it, she doesn't say anything.

"Go on; introduce yourself." She whispers encouragingly to him.

Slowly, he exhales deeply and turns to face the class. A switch turns on and the nervous new kid façade fades away to another one.

"Um, hello fellow students! My name is Bart Allen and I recently moved to Central City." He gives a friendly wave to the class. Some of them wave back, amused.

"Where did you move from, Bart?" The teacher prods.

"Keystone City, home of the original Flash." He puffs his chest out proudly.

Keystone City was the first sighting of the first Flash, back in the forties. The current Flash started up in Central City, but he can still frequently be spotted in Keystone as well. Many in Central City consider Keystone City a sister city and the sentiment is the same likewise in Keystone City. There is a lighthearted rivalry between the two, however, on which Flash is the best.

So it is not odd that Bart emphasizes the fact that he originates from the city of the original Flash. His quirks lay in his behavior towards school in general. In his first few weeks, he plays twenty questions with the teachers on how the school operates. It's an uproar with the students, who howl with laughter at the teachers' reactions. They label him a class clown, a troublemaker. No one thinks his questions are legitimate. Except for Bobby Jones.

Bobby Jones is just as about as average as Bart is on the outside. He's the nerd who gets straight As in all his classes and loves to play the clarinet in the marching band. His favorite subject is history, which happens to be the subject Bart succeeds in getting Fs in.

He strolls up to Bart one day after class with a proposition.

"Hello Bart."

"Oh hey Bobby!" Bart grins, "What's up?"

"I noticed History isn't your best subject."

Bart's smile grows forced; it's definitely a sore spot for his peer.

"Yeah, let's just say I've never been the greatest history student." He mumbles as he sheepishly scratches the back of his head.

"I'd be willing to offer up my…services to you." Bobby says in a conspiratorially tone. He could be more direct but A, he's a thirteen year old and B, he's obsessed with spy movies.

At once Bart brightens up. He straightens his posture as he examines Bobby in the eye. It sends shivers down Bobby's back. There is something that gleams in Bart's eyes that is too cold and calculating to belong to a normal 13 years old. Suddenly he's not all too sure about approaching Bart was the right idea.

"I'm listening, amigo," He leans in.

"I—I could do your homework for you, and give you the answers for the tests," Bobby stammers, "Not for free, of course, there would a charge."

When he first began his practices, he started out charging money. He then switched to favors or things like books or candy as money is a hard currency to come by in the middle school population.

He'd always assumed Bart was an open book. He was loud, he was excitable, easy to show his joy or disdain over things. He seemed naïve to a degree, something that Bobby presumed would make him an easy target. However Bart's face was blank in the silence that momentarily followed.

"It sounds great but…it isn't that not allowed?" His voice cracked with uncertainty.

Bobby wanted to say yes. He wanted to ensnare another sucker—another client into his 'business.' It wasn't like he was hurting Bart, the exact opposite actually. He knew how to slowly raise Bart's grade that wouldn't raise any red flags. But there's something so earnest in his tone that makes Bobby pause.

"Not exactly," He admits eventually, "But you want to raise your GPA, don't you?"

Bart hesitates. For a moment, Bobby thinks he may have snagged him. But then the brunet slowly shakes his head.

"I can't accept it, sorry."

Bobby doesn't give up easily though. He can't. Not when Bart could threaten to expose his operations.

"I could tutor you instead!" He says in an act of desperation.

"Tutor?"

"Yeah, I could help you understand it—but it'd still be you doing the homework and everything."

"Yeah," Bart nods his head, "Yeah that sounds crash!"

They come up with an agreed time and place and take it from there. Tutoring Bart, turns out to be a more difficult than he'd imagined.

"This unit, we're focusing on the events leading up to the American Revolution."

"Ah, yes!" Bart leaned back, propping his legs on the table, "That's what Fourth of July is about, right? It's the celebration of us Americans freeing ourselves from their oppressors!"

"Kinda. It marks the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed."

"What's that?"

"You don't—" Bobby takes a double take, "How do you not know?"

Every American grown child has heard the mantra during their growing up years. Every Fourth of July that rolls around comes a great big patriotic speech about the Founding Fathers. It turns out that Bart knows little to nothing about history whatsoever. It doesn't make a single bit of sense to him. Even people who hate history at least know about stuff that came before them. Bobby, clearly, has his work cut out for him. There is one thing going for him. Bart is a willing student who is eager to please.

He finds out that stories are the best method to teach Bart. Dates and facts mean nothing to him; he wants to hear the reasoning behind them, the people and events that make up them. He lends a lot of his historical fiction novels to Bart, with the hefty warning that figures like Johnny Tremain aren't real.

Slowly, out of this odd tutorship a friendship blossoms between them. Neither of them openly address it. Bobby thinks that Bart, despite his cheery demeanor, isn't all that interested in friends. He doesn't participate in any afternoon extracurriculars and keeps a distance with their peers. Bobby doesn't mind, because he's not all that interested in friends either. He classifies Bart as someone whom he can tolerate. His tolerable buddy.

He tries convincing himself when Bart suddenly stops replying to his texts that he isn't upset. He is definitely not worried when Bart doesn't show up at school for an entire week. No, he is angry when Bart finally shows his face sometime during the first week of April.

"Where. Were. You?" He grabs hold of him sometime after class.

"Easy, big guy," Bart winces as he drags Bobby's hands off his shoulders, "I was sick, that's all."

"Sick, hmm?" Bobby crossed his arms.

"Yup! I was totally feeling the mode. I was in and out of consciousness a lot." There is a hint of truth underlying Bart's words. Bobby can see the weariness clinging to his eyes. He's been around Bart enough now to know something is off, and he doesn't like the smell of it.

Naivety and lies aside, there was the fact that Bart didn't live with his parents. He lives with an elderly couple named the Garricks.

"So, what, are they like your grandparents?" He asked Bart one day after Mrs. Garrick disappeared into the kitchen to grab them a snack.

"Erm, sorta?" He scrunched up his nose, "My family tree's…confusing."

Bart refuses to elaborate on that, causing Bobby to do some snooping on his own. The Garricks are close to the Allens; a family that shares no relation to either of them. Apparently Jay Garrick took a young Barry Allen under his tutelage and practically views him as a son. There's a few articles from the local newspaper about the two, not to mention their social media presences. The strange thing is that Bart popped in on the scene a few months ago. There is no mention of him predating February and he has no social media of his own to speak of.

When Bobby nonchalantly asked about it, Bart gave him a blank look.

"Oh! You must be talking about the 'Snapchat' thing everyone is obsessed about!" He frowned, "I've been too busy with school to set one up."

He stared at Bart. He was never sure when Bart was being completely serious or just messing with him.

It's the scars that just about does Bobby in. Bart was always skittish about dressing publicly in the locker gyms before and after P.E. It was something the other boys always teased him about. Bart always laughed it off. Somehow, he'd always managed on dressing before any one of them arrived.

Bobby catches him slipping in the act of slipping on his shirt. It's purely coincidental, it isn't like Bobby had skipped class to stake out the locker room or anything. He nearly gags at the sight. Bart's torso is decorated with scores of scars, both big and little. Many of them are old, but a few of them are newer looking. The two lock eyes and Bart knows that he knows.

"Hey Bobster, what's up—"

"Who's hurting you?" Bobby inhales a sharp breath.

"Wh—"

"Who's hurting you?" Bobby presses harder, "It's not Jay, is it?"

"No!" Bart exclaims, looking deeply horrified, "It's not him, I swear."

"Then who is it?"

"I—" Bart looks ahead, "I can't tell you. But I'm okay now—I'm okay."

He takes a shuddering, deep breath as he hugs his knees.

"You know, my dad used to beat my mom every night," Bobby says causally.

Bart looks up at him, startled by the revelation.

"She used to cover it up, pretended everything was alright. She wanted me to have a "normal" family. She didn't want me to miss out on having a dad. She put her foot down when she found out he started beating me for getting bad grades."

"Dude…" Bart whispers, and Bobby looks over at him. There is an understanding in his eyes. For the first time there is someone who understands him. Who doesn't apologize or pity him or look at him uncomfortably.

"Are you safe with the Garricks?" Bobby asks.

"Yes. It's—over." Bart sighs, and Bobby thinks is the first time he's seen him serious, "You don't have to worry about me, dude."

The whole school thinks Bart's naivety is a façade. He is the typical class clown, who bombards the teachers with ridiculous questions with a straight face. He will be remembered as that upbeat kid with a strange sense of humor.

Bobby knows better. Bobby knows that there is truth lurking underneath it all, and with that truth there is pain. Bart doesn't address it, and neither does Bobby. They'll sit at lunch and talk about history that doesn't belong to them. They'll discuss fallen rulers and devastated armies before they'll discuss broken pasts. They aren't friends. They're simply two people who made a pact to stick it out together until high school graduation.

* * *

There's something strange about Wally's little cousin. But then again, West and his family have always been strange to Toby.

When you have a spend a year living in the same quarters, you get to see a different side of people. The side that's only visible when no one else is around. Their living habits essentially. As Wally's roommate for a year, he knows a lot about the guy. Like how he holds onto every birthday card and participation award from his childhood. Or how he hides snacks all over the dorm and sometimes forgets where he hid them. Not to mention the fact the long, unexpected stretches of time he vanishes from the face of the earth.

Toby nearly called the cops the first time it happened. He's not sure what West does in his off-time, he doesn't ask. It's probably something illegal and he doesn't want any part of it. He was pretty certain the guy would drop out after the first semester. It didn't seem like he was all that dedicated to the classes. But miraculously he stuck with it.

He leaves Toby on good terms. He's been chomping on the bit to move in with his girlfriend and once his one-year sentence is up, he doesn't waste any time. It's something the three of them joke about. He and Artemis often compare notes on Wally's roommate etiquette much to Wally's humiliation.

There's something special between Wally and Artemis. The fact that they already bicker like an old married couple might something to do with it. He's seen a ring tucked away in one of Wally's desk drawers. The wedding is inevitable.

Except that it isn't. One moment Artemis and Wally are happily living together. Next moment, there is Wally West unhappily living in an apartment alone. Car crash, Toby's told. She was visiting relatives over the weekend in Gotham City when it happened.

Toby can't even to begin to imagine how it must feel to have the love of your life unexpectedly ripped out of your life. He's not sure that Wally knows how to feel about it either. He insists that he is fine, but his actions suggest otherwise. He hasn't slept in days, if the dark circles are any indication. He snaps easily. He's scatterbrained. He barely touches food. Toby takes to daily visits just to make sure he's still breathing.

It's the cousin that makes the difference, however.

He walks into the two squabbling over a match of Halo.

"Look, you can't just mash buttons as fast as you can, the game can't process your commands at your level of speed. You gotta slow it down."

"Opps, sorry! I forgot how sluggish retro games can be."

"Don't make me hurt you."

He clears his throat and the two whip their heads towards him.

"Um. The door was unlocked." He says, "Who's the kid?"

"I'm his cousin, Bart!" The teenager gives Toby's hand a good shake.

Wally rubs a hand through his hair. "Aw, I'm sorry man I forgot about our study session!" He exclaims, "Bart kinda popped up unexpectedly."

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I stop by," Bart gives a wink, as if hinting to an inside joke.

It turns out that their neighborhood and Bart's are stretched across a thousand miles. Bart slips out once that he attends Wally's old middle school. Wally provides a weak cover-up for it, something about cheap plane fares. Bart is around too much for that to be true.

Bart plays the part of the annoying younger brother. He likes to mess with Wally's stuff, touching things he shouldn't. Anything Wally does, Bart does. If Wally likes Chicken Whizees, then Bart also likes Chicken Whizees. He challenges Wally to things like eating contests (always a draw) and who can make the loudest burp. He presses Wally's buttons, He pesters him with questions. There's a friendly animosity between them, the kind that only develop amongst siblings.

Although Wally protests that he is the caretaker for Bart, it's the latter that takes care for Wally. He distracts Wally, helps keep his mind off things. He makes Wally laugh, and reminds him to eat food.

Toby doesn't get many one-on-one interactions with Bart. There is only two that are memorable. The first one happens in the middle of April. It's a Thursday and he's at home, in the dorm. His roommate Fred is working, and Toby is listening to music while studying when he hears a knock at the door.

"Hey there!" Bart grins. "Wally's still at class so I'd thought I would hang with you for a bit."

He nods slowly at him. Bart has accompanied Wally to his dorm before, so he's not surprised to find him standing in his doorway. He is surprised to see he didn't just hang in Wally's apartment. But then again, nothing ever makes sense when it comes to Bart.

"Hey," Toby nods, "No prob, you're welcome to hang here if you want. Hope you like listening to Elton John."

"Who's that?" Bart asks as he enters the threshold.

"You know, Lion King." When the kid doesn't respond to that, he gives a double-take, "Have you never seen the Lion King?"

"Um nope, can't say that I have." He shrugs his shoulders.

"We'll have to remedy that." Toby says determinedly, as he picks up his laptop.

"What are you doing?" Bart leans curiously over his shoulder.

"I'm pulling up Lion King. You're not leaving until you see it."  
He studies while Bart watches from the laptop nearby. He doesn't get much homework done as Bart keeps asking questions almost every minute. Through the questions, Toby learns that he has a very limited knowledge on pop culture. By the end of it, he gives Bart a flash drive with his favorite songs on it.

He makes a comment about to Wally a week later. West gave a sigh.

"Let's just say he lived a very isolated childhood." He remarks, and leaves it at that.

Toby doesn't press it. There's a silent understanding built up between the two. There are certain things about Wally that they don't address, and Bart's origin is one of them. Bart may be the typical annoying brother figure to Wally, but there's something weird about the kid. Like how he can hold his ground in an argument with Wally over quantum physics that's is way over Toby's head. How he hadn't seen the Lion King or played Minecraft before. How he uses weird lingo and calls things like the new iPhone "retro". Or where exactly does he fit into Wally's family tree.

He's not the typical thirteen-year-old that's for sure. Toby tries not to care why—he never has, so why start now? It's not like he doesn't care—he does, he totally does—but he has more riveting things to focus on. Important things that every poor college student with crippling debt worries about. Like keeping his GPA up and surviving on ramen noodles alone. Seriously, he'd rather face an alien apocalypse than suffer through Finals week.

Just when things start to look up, it all comes crashing down. It's not the type of "good" crash that Bart likes to blab about either. A few months later, he receives a message alerting him that Wally is dead. He died in a car crash on his way home one night. It's too akin to Artemis's death that he can't help but wonder things. Things that tie knots in his stomach and make him feel sick.

He's sitting at his desk, alone, when someone knocks at the door. He gets up to answer it. It's not like he was doing any real studying anyhow.

"Hey." Bart says, fidgeting. It reminds Toby of Wally—he always had a hard time keeping still. He was especially worse when he was anxious.

"Hey," He echoes.

He doesn't even question why Bart's here. He knows exactly why. He leads him into the living room and they both sit down. A silence endures between the two. Artemis and Wally were both his friends, but to Bart? He lost not a cousin but a brother. He's only thirteen, Toby thinks. He's too young to lose a loved one this early. So is Toby.

Bart is the first one to break the silence.

"Listen, I have something to tell you," Bart speaks up, "Art—the others didn't think it was a good idea. But I think you deserve to know the truth."

"The truth?" Toby asks, as he stares down at Bart.

The way he speaks it makes it sound like Wally was involved in some type of gang. He doesn't doubt that, but at the same time he hopes better of his dead friend.

"Yes." Bart takes a deep, shuddering breath, "Wally didn't die from some car crash."

"What'd he die of?"

"He died saving the world from the Reach."

Toby smiles bitterly, "He's Kid Flash, isn't he?"

"How'd you know?" Bart asks, surprise edging his voice.

"He was always gone weird stretches of time when we were roommates. He healed inhumanely fast. Both he and Kid Flash have red hair. He has a ton of Flash memorabilia. Not to mention Kid Flash fell off the radar once he and Artemis stopped disappearing on a regular basis." Toby shook his head, "It was just an absurd theory I had."

An absurd theory that happened to be true. A weight lifts off him. It doesn't change what happened. But it makes it easier to breathe knowing for sure that his friend didn't commit suicide or died a meaningless death. He can breathe and know the reason they survived annihilation from the Reach was his friend Wally. It's surreal and almost mind breaking to think he's been friends with a superhero all along.

He sighs before glancing over at Bart once more.

"Are you the new Kid Flash the media's been buzzing about?" He asked.

It makes sense now why a new Kid Flash popped up suddenly. He hasn't approached the cameras at all and all the media has is a few blurry pics of him. Some speculate he must be the new Flash kid that was spotted helping the Flash and Kid Flash with Neutron a while back. All he knows is that the media is gushing about how an honor it is to witness a passing of a title. He doesn't get it himself. There must have been at least three Robins by now but you don't see anyone going on about it.

"Yeah." Bart murmurs, "That's me."

"Wally would be proud to see you zooming around as Kid Flash." He says.

Bart gives a look that lets him know that he's heard it a hundred times already. The phrase still doesn't reassure him even after Toby says it, apparently. It's alright though. He's just a poor college student who happened to room with Kid Flash for a year. He knows nothing of the battles of good vs. evil.

"I mean it. I don't know if you noticed, but Wally saw you as a little brother. Loved you like one, too. Sure you annoyed him at times, but that's what little brothers are for." He ruffles Bart's hair, "I have no doubt you'll do him justice."

"Thanks." Bart says.

Toby's unsure if his words held any meaning to Bart, but he's smiling and so he hopes that's a good sign. He spends the rest of the evening telling Bart all the embarrassing blackmail he has on Wally and then some.

There's still something strange about Bart, even after the reveal. Then again, maybe there's genetically weird with anyone who thinks wearing spandex and fighting crime is a great career choice. He decides nothing can surprise him anymore after knowing the truth. Santa Claus is real and so is the Easter Bunny and maybe even the Queen of England. That is, until he takes a walk past Wally's old apartment and runs into a familiar blond. After that, nothing fazes him the slightest when it comes to Wally and Bart and their lineage.


End file.
